Whispers in the Wind
by TrueSeeker
Summary: Rating M, for future references to violence, language and sexual implecations.  Legends are born and legends die and all of it comes in stride, yet here is a tale of one of those legends.  Follow a boy as he grows, a boy who hears the whispers in the wind


**TrueSeeker**: Hi everyone this is TrueSeeker here with my first fic ever. YEAH!!!. I've been a long time reader for many fics, around 6 years or so but finally got my lazy ass around to writing my first fic that I feel comfortable with. In general the fic is going to be slightly AU but for the most part the characters personalities will stay the same. Feel free to review and give me any advice you think would be pertinent to making the characters better toward their personalities, but I will not accept any flames or out right insults to my writing, not that I won't take constructive criticism in stride. Also if I can get any volunteers for an experience Beta that would be appreciated as I don't have one at this point, but without further ado lets get to the story.

**Story Stats**

Words: Little more than 2,500

Paragraphs: 44

I do not own Naruto, or most of the things associated with them if this type rendition story has been written about by someone else I appolgize in advance but I haven't seen an example of it and thought it was an original idea.

In the times to come where the world as we have known it has long since crumbled under humanity's errors…from the ashes, the world would be reborn like a phoenix of legend. While the knowledge and history of the old world were lost in the blaze, a new society, with remnants of the past, grew in its place.

In this time legends, men and women would rise to fame, never to be forgotten; not from politics, nor wealth, nor science, but through strength of heart and mind, through skill unequaled, and the legacy of the shinobi.

It is during this era, that the world once again hung in the balance, faced with a time of never ending darkness. It would fall to the hands of not the elder or the experienced, but a score or so of what some would consider children under the guidance of one whose heart was as pure as gold and whose soul forever stay as innocent as a child, he who hears the whispers in the wind.

This is his story, a epic tale whose beginning is wrought in flame and cries of ……

"FIRE!!!!" was the muffled cry that reached the ears of one man through the haze of smoke and the cacophony of rampant destruction.

A crop of silver hair covered in a grim and ash rose up among the throng, his standard black jounin uniform and vest covered in blood, sweat and grime, his masked covered face turned toward the other shinobi around him and two piercing eyes, one red and the other black, gazed at those around him before a harsh command was issued. "I want all new chuunin to take a squad of genin and handle those fires. Make reasonable attempts to rescue anyone left in those buildings, and make use of any and all suiton and doton jutsus to put out the flames. The jounin and all other chuunin are to come with me, I'll hand out responsibilities as we go," was heard over the roaring noise.

A slim and decidingly female figure of a kounichi stepped forward and started, "But Hatake-sempai…" she was cut off by a slight growl and an increased voice.

" NO CONTRADICTING MY ORDERS-" his voice calmed as the hand of a spandex clad jounin, who's uniform was surprisingly as shining as his smile, "-heh… this is no time for squabbling, I know what I'm doing." A single scarlet eye turned toward another of the elite shinobi and two pouches flew through the air to be deftly received. "Takata, you'll be in charge of controlling the the fires and helping evacuate the villagers. All chuunin and gennin teams are to follow his orders, with that said, everyone else follow me back to the battle, we need to keep the demon at bay till the Yondaime can arrive." Nods were the reply as they all blurred out of sight.

A few moments later, a brief yet dangerous dash through the outskirts of the village; dodging debris and flying mound of dirt and trees swept up in the flailing nine crimson appendages. There it stood in all its glory, fury and devastation- the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the most powerful of all bijuu- barely slowed by the hundreds of brave men and women, shinobi or not, that guarded the village against its wrath.

Though a slight quake could be felt with each of the beast's steps or a lunge with one of its powerful tails, a newer and closer quake could be felt originating from the center of the village. Hatake Kakashi and the other shinobi with him paused as the felt a rush of air as a several story tall red and orange toad in a battle hakama and armed with a wooden handled dagger flew past.

A voice in awe spoke out seemingly to himself, "Gamabunta-sama…"

Kakashi was the first to recover and signaled the grouop to move forward, "Yondaime-sama has joined the battle, but this is no time to rest we need to support him." The others nodded in agreement as they sped through the remaining buildings past the village walls, and into the trees.

After a few minutes they were still a few hundred meters from the position of Gamabunta and Kyuubi, and upon the giant toad's head sat a blond-haired man in flowing white and red robes with a small bundle in his lap. Even with the battle raging between the two creatures, the blonde man sat calmly running through a large amount of unusual hand seals, moving so fast that even most of the ninja only saw a blur.

A startled gasp issued from the silver haired Jounin. "Sensei are you…" fell hardly above a whisper from his cloth-covered lips as his hitiatae was raised from his covered left eye. As the crimson eye recognized the sequence of those seals he spoke, "Damn! We need to get to Yondaime-sama now."

"What do you mean Kakashi, what is happening with Yondaime-sama?" replied the emerald clad jounin, as he turned his head to his silver haired rival.

"Gai, Yondaime-sama is…," he paused for a moment, then continued, "…he plans to use a self sacrifice Kinjutsu." The announcement was followed by a collective gasp , and low whispers of 'Yondaime-sama'. While increasing his pace, Kakashi spoke out, "We have to get there and sto-: his words were cut short as the blonde Hokage stopped his seals and the cry of "Fuijinjutsu: Skiki Fuijin!!!" rang across the scorched earth that was the battle field.

In a brilliant outburst of chakra, the world seemed to slow and darken as the light leached away as a the looming figure of a spirit, dark as the night itself, appeared with a a sheathed blade held between its razor sharp teeth. Kakashi knew that figure and that now he was too late. The Shinigami , reaper of souls had appeared, and he would require a sacrifice for his services.

In another brilliant flash of light, Kyuubi crumpled to the ground as the Shinigami seemingly pulled, what Kakashi could tell, its 'essence' away from the body and it came to rest in the small bundle on the Yondaime's lap. With that the Yondaime, Kazama Arashi collapsed in a heap on Gamabunta's head before the boss summon disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Arashi, his bundle still in his atms, soon appeared out of the cloud plummeting toward the earth...

It was done but he felt so weak, so weak that he could hardly move despite the fact that he and his precious cargo were both steadily growing closer to the ground below. He smiled and tears reached his as the blond bundle in his arms gurgled excitedly with his tiny arms flailing in the air, as if seemingly trying to catch the wind.

'Naruto', he mused sadly, 'I'm sorry for giving you this burden, and that I won't be there to help you carry it,' as he felt his vision tunneling. All of the sudden the wind whipping around him died down, 'Hah… must be losing feeling already..' his thoughts were interrupted as he felt himself gently touch down on the ground and a few moments later old man Sarutobi came into view.

His surprise at the soft impact faded quickly and he forced his body to work just a little longer, "Sar..tobi-sama, his name… Naruto… he … hero," he started to lose his vision as he once more forced his voice to start again, "… make sure … village.. him… hero." With a last struggling breath the world said fairwell to the Yondaime Hokage, Kazama Arashi.

For the Sandaime Hokage this was a day of anguish. Normally returning to his former duties would not be that bad, but now after his successor had sacrificed himself for the village, he would have to be reinstated. That was not the only surprise thrust upon him that day, and he looked sadly and the small blonde bundle lying asleep in the crib nearby…

Flashback

_His body, though old, spryly sped across the field toward the boss summon when his vision was blinded by an intense light, when it cleared he saw the collapsing form of the nine-tailed demon and the disappearance of some form of ghost, 'must likely be the death god that Arashi had mentioned to him once, a while back, in passing'. _

_Sarutobi's anxiety rose at the sight and he rushed with renewed vigor toward Gamabunta, just to see the giant frog disappear in cloud of smoke. His speed increased ever so slightly as the form of a blonde garbed in white and red fell from the plume. He needed to get there, but a thought raced through his mind as his brow crinkled, 'I won't make it in time, and in that condition he will surely not survive.'_

_To Sarutobi's great surprise, and relief, the white-clad figure slowed as a sudden gust of wind pushed up against the blonde till he landed gently against the flattened ground below him. Despite this strange occurrence, he had no time to think about it as his successor labored with his last words…_

End Flashback

Now that he had time to consider it, 'Where did that gust of wind come from, it could not have been Arashi for it did not have the feel of his chakra, though my sense of that may have been dulled by how much chakra he had expelled in the sealing. But even then if that was true it did not seem as if now deceased Hokage was aware enough to have done such a feat. Oh well, this must be a mystery to be solved for another time, I have to go back to facing my most dreaded foe……… paperwork.'

His attention was diverted from his thoughts as two men entered the room. One covered in soot and sweat, his ANBU mask hanging limply around his neck, and his one visible eye was redd-rimmed and spoke of exhaustion and grief.

The other, though just as covered in muck and grim, gave off an air and look of regalness and neutrality, his dirt stained clothing not detracting at all from the image. His white pupil-less eyes met Sarutobi's black before they scanned the room, resting finally on the small piece of furniture and no doubt the child that lay inside it. "Is that the boy?" the man spoke stoically and was replied with a nod from the wrinkled head of the aged Hokage.

"The villagers are clamoring for his death," the man continued but paused for a brief moment to give another lasting look toward the crib before he spoke again, "they believe he is the beast reborn in human form." A sigh was heard escaping from the mouth of the elder man before he continued, "Have you checked the seal for abnormalities."

A nod and a few words was the reply, "Hai, I have." Sarutobi paused and looked at both of the other occupants before continuing, "Hiashi, I need you to check it as well, my inspection has shown nothing wrong with the seals make-up, but I'd rather be…" He cut himself off as a strong breeze blew past his head, but Sarutobi knew all of his windows were shut… 'This was the same feeling earlier that day at the battlefield with the gust that cushioned the fall of the Yondaime.

Frantically he scanned the room to Hiashi and Kakashis' quizacal looks. His eyes stopping to rest on a single floating sheet, dancing in front of the now awake day old blonde who was giggling quietly. Sarutobi recoiled in shock and said, "Hiashi…" his unspoken order received with a nod before the man activated his blood line dojutsu and turned to the object of the aged Hokage's inspection.

When Sarutobi finally raised his gaze from the blonde he saw a sight that may never happen in the history of Kohana ever again; Hyuuga Hiashi, the ever composed Hyuuga clan head, was slack-jawed, and staring at the blonde childe in front of his gaze. Kakashi, utterly confused by both the reinstated Hokage and the Clan Head's reactions raised his Hitiatae briefly before resetting it over the crimson eye and sputtering, " H-Ho-Hokage-sama…"

Sarutobi gazed at both Jounin before tersely stating, "Hiashi, explain." The full weight of his sternness and authority bearing down from his voice and his gaze.

Hiashi took a few moments to compose himself before speaking with a concerned tone, "The child, he… he is constantly expelling chakra into the space surrounding him, instead of dissipating as it leaks, the chakra seems to stay with that air and charges it, it is like he knows how to do nature chakra manipulation on a level of a jounin of several decades instinctively. Yet not only that, this expulsion of chakra, it seems to…" Hiashi paused to consider his words and he continued after a short sigh, "it seems to impair my kekki genkai." At the end of the statement not only was Sarutobi skeptical, but Hiashi seemed to doubt his own words, as if for the first time he could not trust what his eyes were telling him.

Sarutobi questioned Hiashi, "But would he not die from chakra exhaustion long before now if that were the case, and how is the Byakugan be impaired by the expelling of his chakra, would that not make him easier for you to see.

Kakashi shook his head, "From what my gift can tell see, he already, even at such a short time after birth , has the equivalent of a newly graduated chuunin in chakra and beyond that he has unprecedented chakra regeneration." The recently coined 'Copy Ninja' turned to the Hyuuga head and set his one eye toward the slightly disturbed Hyuuga as if willing him to continue.

A white eyed gaze turned toward the teenage jounin and shook his head sadly, "It seems as if his output of chakra blind's my all seeing eyes as if he were a bright sun in my vision, surely it must be similar with your eye Kakashi," the young jounin nodded in response before the clan head continued. " If he would let the chakra die down I may be able to examine him, but until then it would be pointless; maybe if I check on him next time he sleeps."

The Hyuuga head turned to the village leader, who showed a contemplative face as he looked at the child, before stating, "We can try that later, but for now we must figure out a way to keep this a secret from the council of elders and teach him to control it. Someone like Danzo would just see it as another reason to use him as a weapon , and I really don't want to give them that kind of leverage against Naruto."

Both noticed the boys name and smiled sadly, as well as Kakashi's visible eye closed in amusement before both nodded sternly. They would need to watch over the boy as he grew, this Legacy of the Fourth Hokage.

Hope to send you another chapter soon, until the see you soon.


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